1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for holding and securing Electronic Cigarettes while in a motor vehicle. In particular, a device for holding and securing Electronic Cigarettes of varying configurations, dimensions and materials of manufacture. The device allows for easy insertion and removal of Electronic Cigarettes with minimal attention necessary from the user. The invention also incorporates a mounting system that provides a means of mounting the device on vehicle door panels of varying depths.
2. Background of the Invention
Over the past several years, the use and popularity of Electronic Cigarettes have experienced tremendous growth, whereas best estimates currently report millions of users and thousands of retail stores in the United States devoted exclusively to the sale of Electronic Cigarettes and associated accessories.
Originally marketed as a smoking cessation aid, Electronic Cigarettes have now come to be used both socially and recreationally as well. This phenomenon is evidenced by the multitude of smoking lounges that cater to “vaping” (the term that refers to the act of puffing on an Electronic Cigarette and exhaling the residual) popping up in municipalities across the country. It is not uncommon for these outlets to hold “vaping” competitions where the contestants are judged on the volume of the vapor cloud they can produce from their Electronic Cigarette and the distance they can project the cloud away from themselves.
An Electronic Cigarette is a portable device independently powered by a battery (or batteries) contained within the body of the Electronic Cigarette. The battery is used to energize an atomizer that vaporizes a liquid solution referred to as “e-juice” held in a reservoir within the body of the Electronic Cigarette. Once the “e-juice” is vaporized, the user ingests the vapor by inhaling it through a mouthpiece. The process of repeatedly vaporizing the “e-juice” necessarily requires regular refilling of the “e-juice” reservoir whereas the duration between refills is determined primarily by the frequency of use and the volume of the “e-juice” reservoir within the particular Electronic Cigarette.
Electronic Cigarettes are only “cigarettes” in that many are shaped like a cigarette, puffed like a cigarette, produce a cloud similar to cigarette smoke upon exhalation, and depending on the preference of the individual user, may contain nicotine to be ingested upon inhalation of the vapor. Primary characteristics and modalities differentiating Electronic Cigarettes from regular cigarettes are that they leave no burned residual, contain no tobacco, and require no fire to be “lit”. Electronic Cigarettes do share commonalities with traditional cigarettes when it comes to the environments in which they are used. So much, in fact, that the places where each are used and the activities associated with the usage of each are essentially the same. Each are commonly used in social settings, while one is alone, in bars and restaurants, at home, and in one's vehicle.
The present invention relates to the usage of Electronic Cigarettes in a motor vehicle.
The use of regular cigarettes, and more specifically, their use in a motor vehicle, can be used to illustrate and understand the purpose and utility of the invention.
Up until about twenty years ago, new passenger cars and trucks were routinely equipped with ash trays for cigarettes. These ash trays primarily served two purposes: 1) as a receptacle for burned ashes, and 2) as a place to rest the cigarette when not being smoked. While Electronic Cigarettes certainly have no need for a burned ash receptacle, they do need a place to rest when not being “smoked”. Motorists, whether driver or passenger, that use an Electronic Cigarette commonly find themselves looking for a place to rest their Electronic Cigarette. With no built-in provision for holding Electronic Cigarettes in the vehicle, the Electronic Cigarettes get lost in and around the upholstery and fixtures, roll around on the floorboard, get in the way of the control pedals, have parts of them broken off, and often, because of the abnormal physical orientation of the Electronic Cigarette, will leak the “e-juice” into and onto the interior of the vehicle.
This is the purpose and utility of the invention: to provide a place to rest and secure an Electronic Cigarette within a motor vehicle.
Notwithstanding a few exceptions for some novelty designs, Electronic Cigarettes are manufactured primarily in two configurations: 1) cylindrical and 2) box-type. For purposes of clarity and understanding of the invention, the following definitions will be used within the specification for the two configurations. Cylindrical will be understood to mean all Electronic Cigarettes of a cylindrical shape, regardless of length or diameter, and box-type will be understood to mean all Electronic Cigarettes that are not cylindrical; with the vast majority of those being in the shape of a square or rectangle. For specification purposes, references herein to these two configurations relate solely to the physical shapes of the devices and do not relate to their operation.
Both cylindrical and box-type Electronic Cigarettes are manufactured in varying dimensions and both have activation buttons located generally near the top of the Electronic Cigarette. The activation button for a rectangular box-type is most commonly found on the narrow vertical edge of the Electronic Cigarette. Cylindrical and box-type Electronic Cigarettes both have a mouthpiece extending from the top of either the cylinder or the box.
The present invention provides a device for holding and securing Electronic Cigarettes of varying types, sizes, and dimensions within a motor vehicle combined with ease of use. This relates briefly to how the present invention intends to assuage some of the problems adverted to above. Advantages of the invention will be appreciated in greater detail from the following descriptions.